The name of the street is believed to originate from candle makers who
practiced their trade there. This supposition is confirmed by Stow, who
writes that it tooke that name (as may bee supposed) either of Chandlers,
or makers of Candles, both of waxe and tallow: for Candlewright is a maker
of Candles, or of Weeke, which is the cotton or yarne used to worke them
(Stow 1:218). A note in the margin
of Stow’s Survey explains that a wike is a working place (Stow 1:218).